The birthday fairy brought me a smoker....

[MacGyver]

Cut into pucks with a saw.  Whack then with a hammer?

Bonus points for making your kids do it.  

[dralarms]

15 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I just picked up a truckload of hickory limbs out of the yard after the storm last night. I wish I knew an easy way to turn them into chips ( I don't have a wood chipper).

I used to use a hatchet. 

[xsubsailor]

31 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I just picked up a truckload of hickory limbs out of the yard after the storm last night. I wish I knew an easy way to turn them into chips ( I don't have a wood chipper).

 Wish you were closer.  I have one I haven't used in so long that I don't even know if it still works. 

I've tried for years to come up with the perfect rub for pork butts, but I gave up after I found this. It's too salty for things like ribs but is great for butts or shoulders. Funny story that goes along with it but that's for a later time. 

screen shot pc

 

[gregintenn]

I may screw this up yet, but dang it smells good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gregintenn]

53 minutes ago, xsubsailor said:

 Wish you were closer.  I have one I haven't used in so long that I don't even know if it still works. 

I've tried for years to come up with the perfect rub for pork butts, but I gave up after I found this. It's too salty for things like ribs but is great for butts or shoulders. Funny story that goes along with it but that's for a later time. 

screen shot pc

 

Smoked paprika is something I've never heard of until today, but it has to be the secret of master smokers everywhere!

[peejman]

1 hour ago, MacGyver said:

Cut into pucks with a saw.  Whack then with a hammer?

Bonus points for making your kids do it.  

It's all in the presentation. "Hey boys, wanna cut stuff up with the hatchet? " 

 

[mikegideon]

18 hours ago, gregintenn said:

This is an electric smoker.

Happy Birthday. I have an electric too. Go here...

https://www.smoking-meat.com/

[gregintenn]

7 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Cut into pucks with a saw.  Whack then with a hammer?

Bonus points for making your kids do it.  

My hammer doesn't have an electronic controller or Iphone ap, so the kids are out.

[mikegideon]

BTW... you are gonna need an electronic meat thermometer. You at least need one that you can read without opening the box. Better yet, a wireless that you can read away from the smoker. I have both, but there's better now than what I have. TGO David has the cool stuff.

[dralarms]

Yea, get an I grill mini. You can use it on the smoker and also to assure you get that steak just the way you want it. 

[gregintenn]

I do need the thermometer. I have an old school probe thermometer, but I like the idea of the wireless one.

 

I'm not sure the thermometer on my smoker is accurate. I started on 225, and soon bumped it up to 235 to actually get some smoke. After 16 hours, the internal; temp of the roast was only in the 160s. I wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven for 4 more hours at 250 to bring the internal temp up to 200.

This seems to take more time that what I usually have available.

[quedz]

 

8 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I'm not sure the thermometer on my smoker is accurate.

Most likely not. A lot of good information here:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/

[MacGyver]

A typical shoulder shouldn’t take that long. But, with the electric you should be able to set it and pretty much forget it once you get a few smokes underneath you.  

I little iGrill mini is a good thermometer for under $50.  There are better ones that you can spend a lot more on - but this is all you need to get started.  

Being able to put something in the evening before and not worry about it until you get up is convenient.

 

[mikegideon]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

I do need the thermometer. I have an old school probe thermometer, but I like the idea of the wireless one.

 

I'm not sure the thermometer on my smoker is accurate. I started on 225, and soon bumped it up to 235 to actually get some smoke. After 16 hours, the internal; temp of the roast was only in the 160s. I wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven for 4 more hours at 250 to bring the internal temp up to 200.

This seems to take more time that what I usually have available.

My smoker has a separate element for the wood chips. I smoke butts at 225

[mikegideon]

What brand is your smoker? Mine is a Masterbuilt. When you add chips, you have to rotate dump the chips after you slide them in by rotating the wood chip loader. If you don't do that, it ain't gonna smoke.

[gregintenn]

3 hours ago, mikegideon said:

What brand is your smoker? Mine is a Masterbuilt. When you add chips, you have to rotate dump the chips after you slide them in by rotating the wood chip loader. If you don't do that, it ain't gonna smoke.

Yeah....that's what I have and how it works.

 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. This made some awesome pulled pork!!!!!!!

[peejman]

Every smoker is a little different. Half the fun is learning what works best with yours. 

[gregintenn]

4 minutes ago, peejman said:

Every smoker is a little different. Half the fun is learning what works best with yours. 

The other half is cleaning the greasy s.o.b. up after it finally cools.

[xsubsailor]

14 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

The other half is cleaning the greasy s.o.b. up after it finally cools.

You're supposed to clean them ?  

[mikegideon]

5 minutes ago, xsubsailor said:

You're supposed to clean them ?  

I clean the racks and the water pan. Everything else, no way.

[dralarms]

Agreed, racks, water pan and scrape the crud off the shelf going into the water pan. And wipe the outside down. 

[Garufa]

All this talk is giving me ideas.  What does a fella need to look for in an electric smoker?

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, xsubsailor said:

You're supposed to clean them ?  

They don't get hot enough to burn off all the grease and food residue like a grill. I would expect the inside to get all molded and funky if you didn't clean it.

 

https://heygrillhey.com/simple-smoked-pulled-pork/

Here's what I did in case anyone wants to try it. I don't know how you could improve on it, but I guess individual tastes may vary.

https://heygrillhey.com/best-sweet-rub-grilled-pork-chicken/

^^^and the rub.

Edited July 23, 2018 by gregintenn

[peejman]

2 hours ago, gregintenn said:

. I would expect the inside to get all molded and funky if you didn't clean it.

Indeed, that's exactly what happens. Pressure washer to the rescue. 

[gregintenn]

Cooked a chicken on it for lunch today. Salt and pepper chicken. Hickory wood chips for smoke. Water in water tray. Cooked on 240 degrees at 1 hour per pound of meat. Internal temp 165.

 

This was simply amazing!!!!

The smoker has proven to be quite the hit at our house.